is a delightful walk, called "the Lawn," much frequented in fine weather as a promenade; and not far distant from it is the Beacon Cliff, on which were formerly the signal-house and telegraph, which were, some time ago, destroyed by the encroachments of the sea. This eminence commands a grand, interesting, and extensive prospect. Parties are also frequently made by the visitors for sailing or steaming up the Orwell and Stour, and making excursions on the bosom of the ocean. The scenery of the Orwell possesses peculiar interest, the banks being studded with elegant villas and pleasure grounds.
YARMOUTH.
Yarmouth, in the county of Norfolk, sometimes called Great Yarmouth, to distinguish it from Yarmouth in the Isle of Wight, lies about 123 miles north-east of London, and about twenty-four to the eastward of Norwich. In the Vignette Engraving, from a beautiful painting by E. W. Cooke, the view is taken from the shore a little to the northward of the Jetty, which is seen extending into the sea. Nearly in the centre of the engraving is seen the column erected by the county of Norfolk to the memory of Nelson; and to the right are perceived several look-outs, like so many elevated scaffolds, from which, as the shore is very low, the pilots are enabled to take a wider survey when looking out for ships which may require their assistance.
The name of Yarmouth obviously alludes to the situation of the town near the mouth of the river Yare; the word Yare, according to Druery, in his Historical Notices of Great Yarmouth, is derived from the Celtic Iar, dark, supposed to have been given to this river from the dark colour of its waters. According to Sir Henry Spelman, the ground on which Yarmouth stands became firm and habitable in the year 1008, from the recession of the sea, and the accumulation of the sands. If this account be correct, it would appear that the town began to be built almost immediately afterwards; for in the Domesday-book, which was compiled between 1080 and 1086, the place is mentioned, with the usual carelessness of the Norman scribes, by the name of Cernemude; and the entry further records that the place had been held by King Edward [the Confessor], and that it "always had seventy burgesses."
In 1208, Yarmouth received a charter of incorporation from King John; and the privileges of the town were confirmed and enlarged by several succeeding kings. In 1228, in the reign of Henry III., Yarmouth had become a considerable port, both for the importation and exportation of merchandize; and in a charter of Edward I., granted in 1306, it is especially mentioned as a place where fishing-vessels, from an early period, had been accustomed to land the herrings which they caught during the season of the fishery. In 1347, Yarmouth supplied 43 ships and 1,095 mariners to the grand fleet of Edward III. and in 1349, the town was visited by a dreadful plague, which carried off seven thousand of the inhabitants. In the 31st of Edward III., an act was passed regulating the annual herring fair at Yarmouth, and appointing it to be governed by the barons of the Cinque Ports, according to the composition made between them and the inhabitants of the town in the reign of Edward I., the king's grandfather. One William Beukelem, of Biervliet, in Flanders, who died in 1397, according to Anderson, in his History of Commerce, is said to have been the inventor of the method of pickling herrings: but this cannot be correct; for though he may have introduced some improvements in the mode of cleaning and barrelling the fish, the inhabitants of Yarmouth and other places on the eastern coast were accustomed both to pickle and smoke herrings long previous to the time when the practice is said to have been introduced by Beukelem. Yarmouth is still the principal place of resort on the eastern coast of England for vessels engaged in the herring fishery, which there commences about the 21st September, and concludes about the 14th December. Most of the Yorkshire five-man boats come to Yarmouth in the herring season, and make their fishery from that place, disposing of all the herrings which they catch to curers who live in the town.
The quay at Yarmouth is one of the longest and most spacious of any in the kingdom; but from the shallowness of the entrance of the harbour, there being only fourteen feet of water on the bar at spring tides, the trade of the place is chiefly carried on in small vessels. It is high water in Yarmouth Roads at forty minutes past eight, and at Yarmouth Sands at thirty minutes past ten, on the full and change of the moon.
The column erected to the memory of Nelson stands on the low sandy flat, called the Denes, to the south of the town. Its total height, including the basement and the figure of Britannia at the top, is 144 feet, and it is ascended by a staircase consisting of 217 steps. It forms a conspicuous object when seen from the sea; and to the crews of vessels passing through Yarmouth Roads it is a proud memento of Nelson's fame and the naval glory of their country.
"O England!—dearer far than life is dear,
If I forget thy prowess, never more
Be thy ungrateful son allowed to hear
Thy green leaves rustle, or thy torrents roar!"
YARMOUTH QUAY.
'Twas from the "craft of sail and oar"
That states and kingdoms sprang of yore;
When Commerce ceased to woo the wind,
Their wealth decreased—their power declin'd—
Then, thou who lov'st thy native shore,
Pray Heaven to bless "the sail and oar!"
The subject of the annexed View, representing the Quay at Yarmouth, conveys a faithful idea of that interesting and important locality. It is considered by competent judges as the finest quay in England, and in point of length exceeds every other in the United Kingdom. It is one hundred and fifty yards in breadth, contains in its centre a delightful promenade—planted on each side with trees, protected from the east wind by a row of handsome and well-built houses—and presents in all its aspects a striking combination of commercial activity and ornamental beauty. To the elegant Town Hall, which occupies the centre of this space, and to other public buildings, we have briefly alluded elsewhere. As a grand panorama of commercial life, it would be difficult to point out a finer scene than what is every day presented on the Quay at Yarmouth. Its principal foreign connexion is with the Baltic; and its trade in coal, corn, and other merchandise, coastwise, is very extensive. By means of the navigable rivers Yare, Waveny, and Bure, it possesses great facilities of intercourse with the interior of the county.
In Yarmouth Roads—so renowned for the safe riding they afford to shipping—the anchorage is extensive, and there is room for any number of ships. The Roadstead, however, is better calculated for summer than winter, for to large vessels it is only accessible in the daytime with safety.
The trade for which Yarmouth is peculiarly noted is its fisheries, which are an unfailing source of wealth and employment to the inhabitants, and have proved an invaluable nursery for those hardy and gallant seamen who have so often fought and conquered in the battles of their country. The mackarel[1] fishery begins in the end of April, and ends in the beginning of July. The herring[2] fishery commences at Michaelmas, and continues till the end of November; during that interval, it affords constant employment to sixteen hundred fishermen,
